High school economics state championship is March 27

The annual Nebraska Economics Challenge State Championship will pit high school teams from across the state in a competition to determine who has the greater knowledge of economics.

Following a qualifying round of online testing, the top 10 teams of students in Nebraska will come to Lincoln on March 27 to try to unseat the defending state champs from 2009: Elkhorn and Lincoln Northeast. Competing schools include Lincoln Northeast, Omaha Central, Omaha Northwest, Waverly, Bellevue East, Twin River, Elkhorn, Platteview, St. Edward, Lincoln Lutheran and Cedar Rapids.

The competition will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Nebraska Champions Club, 707 Stadium Drive [map].

Teams will compete in one of two divisions for four rounds. The first three rounds focus on the broad range of economic issues from an international and national view to individual decision-making behavior. Following the first three rounds, the top two teams in each division will advance to a fast-paced quiz bowl to determine the 2010 state champion teams.

The David Ricardo Division champion will advance to an online national competition April 26 with $1,650 in prize money at stake. The Adam Smith Division champion will advance to the national semifinal competition April 26 and the top six teams nationally will go on to compete in the National Economics Challenge May 22-24 in New York City.

The event is hosted by the UNL Center for Economic Education and is sponsored by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the economic literacy of Nebraska's students, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City-Omaha Branch and the Council for Economic Education. The goal of the Nebraska Council on Economic Education is achieved through economic education programs, courses and workshops for educators across the state.

WRITER: Jennifer Davidson